How to Seed a Pomegranate in Under A Minute

One of my favorite things about the winter is that it is pomegranate season! I love to snack on the seeds (actually their proper name is "Arils"), and although you can buy them already seeded they are REALLY expensive.

At our local grocery store they range between $6-8 for 4 oz container (about 1/2 a pomegrante's worth!) On the other hand, you can get an 8 pack of pomegranates for about $14 at Costco! (That works out to about 87 cents for 4 oz of arils!)

I know a lot people shy away from pomegranates because of the huge messy nightmare involved in getting the seeds out. For years I have struggled to remove the seeds by using the standard "peel it, break it into pieces, and submerge it in water.. let the white skins float to the top.. blah blah blah"method.

It would take me at LEAST 8-10 minutes to seed a single fruit and my
fingers would be a sticky mess from popping the little arils out.

But one day my life changed, when a friend of mine posted this Lifehacker video to her Facebook page. Before you watch it, be warned.. the video is WAY.TOO.LONG.. so let me sum it up for you.

You score the fruit,

break it in half,

and beat all the seeds right out of it!

Seriously. I can now seed an entire pomegranate in under 60 seconds.

You are going to need a paring knife, wooden spoon or other pretty heavy utensil (I like the back of a butter knife since it has a lot of "oomph"), a large bowl and pomegranates. I also wear and apron since pomegranate juice stains!

How to Seed a Pomegranate

in Under a Minute

Step 1:

Loosen the seeds from the membranes by gently rolling the fruit on the counter.

Step 2:

SHALLOWLY score the skin of the pomegranate so you don't cut open any seeds. You should be barely penetrating the surface.

The score should run perpendicular to the direction of the stem

Step 3:

Carefully TWIST open the fruit. Like when you are opening a peach. This will keep all your seeds in tact.

Step 4:
While holding the cut side down, use your spoon/knife/hammer (kidding!) to knock the loosened seeds away from the membranes.

When you are done you will end up with a hollow pomegranate:

And a whole lot of ARILS!

So there you have it.. The fastest, easiest and CHEAPEST way to enjoy pomegranates!

I store my seeds in a tupperware in the fridge for up to a week. If you
want to stock up on them and enjoy them all summer long you can freeze
them the arils well. Just spread them on a cookie sheet in the freezer and
when they are hard, pour them into a zip-top bag. (Don't freeze the seeds directly in the bag or they will stick together in a big chunk!) They will last 3-4
months frozen.

I know some people think this method is too messy, but here are a few tips I have figured out:

Use a LARGE bowl and hold the cut pomegranate down low, the splatter is directed downward, so the closer you are to the bottom of the bowl, the better.If you are getting a lot of splatter upward or outward, the skin of the pomegranate is breaking or the seeds are coming out 'mushed', that means you are hitting it too hard. If you are finding the seeds aren't coming out without a real beating, you may need to loosen them more (by rolling them on the counter and pressing with the heel of your hand.) They should release with a firm 'tap.'

If you are getting a lot of membranes along with your arils, you can still put them in a bowl of water and allow the white material to float to the surface. I still do that in order to rinse the seeds.

So I hope that helps any other Pomegranate aficionados who are cheap like me!